Will the upcoming Hyundai Santa Fe sacrifice utility for style?

"Luxurious and striking." Those are the words Hyundai uses to describe the new design language for its SUV range, words which the new Santa Fe will personify. These sketches are our preview.

The thin lights and bold 'cascading' grille have already been seen on Hyundai's littlest SUV, the Kona, but the design here looks a wee bit more grown up. Given the Santa Fe's more prosaic role—a family car with up to seven seats and a ton of room—that's probably right.

Hyundai talks about the Santa Fe's "stylish and voluminous composition," which strikes us as meaning it's large and has fancy wheels, if you prefer plain English. Those wheel arches are pretty wacky, mind you.

Whisper it, but all this talk of style worries us a teeny bit. The current Santa Fe is an underrated gem, a properly capable SUV that swallows loads of people and gets on with its business with not a bit of fuss. It's what an SUV probably should be; focused on the utility bit of its acronym.

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If Hyundai can keep all of that while giving it a more striking look, though, then this should be a winner. Fingers crossed…

NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.